Gap year travellers were warned of the potential confusion today by an industry website.
Gap year travellers and other backpackers are facing a potentially dangerous financial issue - their credit cards are often cancelled while they are abroad by banks.
According to new analysis from gapyear.com, many firms are confused by the travellers using their cards while overseas and suspect fraudulent activity. Therefore, the credit cards are cancelled in order to safeguard the customer's account.
Gapyear.com even said today that the problem had become so bad that more and more customers were turning to pre-paid cards instead to tide them over when they go abroad.
Tom Griffiths, founder of gapyear.com, added: "What we are finding from backpackers last season is that they are heading off travelling and are notifying their credit card companies, but unfortunately whether or not they do that, loads of them are having their credit cards stopped.
"This is because the computer sees a card that hasn't been used much in the UK suddenly being nailed in Ecuador or Fiji. It's just looks like fraud so the card's been stopped. We've had people saying they've warned their bank but the problem is the banks and the credit card companies don't recognise 'backpackers' as a term."
The credit card concern is just one of a whole range of security and financial issues faced by backpackers, as highlighted by recent research from American Express. The firm found that eight million travellers had had personal items stolen from them during their trip over the past five years.
Moreover, many exhibited a surprisingly lax attitude to theft - with 12 percent of travellers saying that they left their money vulnerable by keeping it in their bag rather than on their person.
Compare Credit Cards via money.co.uk
